HB second in Riders Cup

The Huntington Beach High surf team kept waiting for a set.

And waiting. And waiting.

It never came during much of the Oilers’ time at the Red Bull Riders Cup Orange County Regional Championships, as Huntington Beach fell to champion Newport Harbor, 64 points to 61.5 points, at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Newport Harbor moves on to the national championships, which will be held June 6-7 at Upper Trestles in San Clemente.

The Riders Cup is run in a “game” format, as teams alternate trying to earn points in four quarters.

“The fan can understand surfing,” Huntington Beach Coach Andy Verdone said. “They have dugouts like baseball, a coin flip like football, timeouts like basketball, and you can substitute on the fly like hockey. The only bad part is the ocean is never the same for both teams.”

The Oilers were trailing for much of the final, despite senior Eddie Elles catching a good ride early. Junior Christian Saenz and sophomore Derek Peters also had good rides early.

Newport Harbor, however, won behind solid rides from event MVP Chase Wilson. At one point in the second period, with the waves rapidly declining, Huntington Beach took three timeouts in a row, but it wasn’t to be.

Saenz posted a 6.5 with 45 seconds remaining, but Huntington Beach couldn’t get closer.

“Newport was really in sync with the ocean, and that’s kind of the key to the game,” Verdone said. “We just couldn’t get a set. We had 20 minutes without a set. But it’s good competition. It’s a good, fun format. We’ve done it for a couple of years now.”

Also competing for Huntington was junior Shayne Nelson, who won the “most radical maneuver” award. Seniors Colton Larson and Billy Hopkins, as well as junior Evan Kane, rounded out the Oilers’ roster.

Huntington Beach knocked out defending champion San Clemente in the semifinals.